Pinterest users have been complaining about mass bans for days, many claiming that they’ve been locked out of their accounts without clear justification. The social media platform finally addressed the furore on Thursday after Mashable reached out, however the response is unlikely to appease many users.
Reports of Pinterest’s inexplicable mass bans began circulating recently, with users flocking to other platforms such as X to complain about suddenly losing their accounts. The r/Pinterest subreddit has been overtaken by posts about the issue, while the comment sections on Pinterest’s official Instagram and TikTok accounts have been flooded with by irate users asking the company to fix it.
Users have accused Pinterest of issuing sweeping bans for no discernable reason, in circumstances where there is allegedly no clear violation of its Community Guidelines. Some state that they’ve had completely new and unused accounts banned, while others claim they’ve lost accounts that are over a decade old.
Pinterest enables users to save images in virtual pinboards, making it particularly popular with people gathering inspiration for creative projects or event planning, as well as collating fashion or home decoration ideas. As such, an unexpected ban can mean the loss of years of careful work and curation.
Yet despite the widespread outrage amongst users, Pinterest maintained silence on the matter for days. This has left users to speculate, with some theorising that AI moderation may be the culprit. Pinterest’s Help Centre states that it uses AI in “improving content moderation.”
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On Monday, moderators for the r/Pinterest subreddit pinned a thread about the mass bans, noting that “there isn’t anything we can do here other than talk about it.” The thread has gathered over 200 comments in the days since, with people expressing anger and frustration at the situation. Many have accused Pinterest of a lack of transparency regarding the bans, claiming that they have no idea what they could have done that warranted losing their accounts.
“I want my Pinterest account back I find it heavily unfair it was banned and no matter how many times I appeal they don’t do anything about it,” wrote Reddit user cruicifix.
“I got no response on what exactly broke the guidelines, It just stated that I should ‘read the guidelines to understand their decission’, super vauge and im sure there was nothing that could have gotten me banned,” wrote Reddit user Admirable-Birthday-9, who stated that they used Pinterest for innocuous content such as fashion, beauty, and recipes.
Though at least two people reported that they successfully regained access to their Pinterest accounts on appeal, the majority appear to have had little success with the appeals process. Further, one of the individuals who recovered their account claimed that not all their content was still there.
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In light of the issue, some users have been warning others to stop using Pinterest and search for alternatives, as they no longer trust that people are reliably able to access their saved content.
“Pins of classical paintings, life drawing poses, fashion photos, and even museum art have triggered bans under vague and inconsistently enforced content policies,” claimed HH-5 on Reddit (emphasis original). “Nothing explicit — just standard references that artists have used for generations.”
Pinterest finally responds to mass bans, users consider class action lawsuit
Pinterest finally broke its silence after Mashable reached out for comment on Thursday morning, addressing the situation publicly on X. Unfortunately, there’s little in Pinterest’s statement to appease upset users.
“We hear your concerns about recent account deactivations on Pinterest,” the company posted to X on Thursday afternoon. “To ensure Pinterest remains a safe and positive platform, we continuously monitor for content that violates our Community Guidelines and accounts with violative content may be deactivated as a result. If you think your account was deactivated by mistake, please send us a DM @askpinterest.”
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Pinterest also issued a similar statement directly to Mashable, though it didn’t specifically address the mass bans.
“Pinterest has long-established, public Community Guidelines that clearly outline what is and isn’t allowed on the platform,” said a Pinterest spokesperson. “We’re committed to building a safer and more positive platform, and enforce these policies rigorously and continuously. Users who believe their account may have been deactivated mistakenly may submit an appeal.”
Unsurprisingly, Pinterest’s statement on X hasn’t satisfied its disgruntled users, particularly considering the lack of success many have had with their appeals. Users are lambasting the response in replies to the post, calling for Pinterest to scrap or at least overhaul its AI moderation.
Others are looking to take it even further. After Pinterest posted its statement, Reddit user wighthamster began gauging interest in a potential class action lawsuit, noting that people may have not only lost income from Pinterest ad campaigns or traffic, but also personal archives containing irreplaceable content such as personal projects or family photos.
“Pinterest promotes itself as a platform for saving ideas, preserving memories, and conducting business… things many users invest significant time and trust in,” wrote wighthamster. “Yet, recent actions suggest a pattern of arbitrary mass account suspensions, often with no functional recourse, directly contradicting its own marketed image and the reasonable expectations of its users.”
Mashable has reached out to wighthamster for comment. However, multiple users have already expressed interest in being involved in the proposed legal action, some claiming that Pinterest’s bans have had repercussions beyond merely losing a few saved pictures.
“For a lot of photographers artists and stylists, it’s the industry standard to present a moodboard before any project goes into action and the sheer amount of valuable references I’ve lost out on since being banned is hard to describe,” wrote Affectionate-Pie-706. “I’ve had to postpone shoots and scramble to reassemble projects. Years and years of curating down the drain and multiple projects stuck in limbo.”
Regardless of whether a lawsuit is filed or not, it’s clear that Pinterest has a lot of work to do to win back users’ trust and goodwill.
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